ALLEN PARK -- TJ Jones was told he had simply sprained his AC joint during Notre Dame's 29-16 win over Rutgers in the Pinstripe Bowl last December. But when the shoulder pain returned, and felt worse, during OTA practices in May, the Detroit Lions sent the rookie receiver to get injury more thoroughly examined.

It turned out Jones required surgery, which put him on the shelf for the team's minicamp in June.

Jones, along with the rest of Detroit's rookies, reported to training camp on Tuesday. He spent the past several weeks rehabbing back home in Atlanta and is optimistic about avoiding the physically unable to perform list.

"I wouldn't say 100 (percent)," Jones said. "There are certain things -- blocking, hitting a defender -- that I haven't been able to simulate at home, but as far as I'm concerned, it's as healthy as can be."

Jones did admit the team might want to take a cautious approach because of his inability to simulate football activities during rehab.

"There are certain things I haven't done yet, so I don't know how it's going to feel once I do those things," Jones said. "They might feel I need extra time where I'm trying to get on the field as soon as possible."

When he was able to practice this offseason, Jones worked strictly out of the slot while learning the basics of the Lions' new offensive scheme. He's hoping he'll be given the opportunity to showcase his talents in more diverse ways during training camp.

"I understand, coming in, it's easiest to learn one (position)," Jones said. "You don't want to get too much on your plate at first. But now it's training camp, I'd like to test my limits and see how much I can take in."